Verse. 406

'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī

تفسير : (they are not all alike) i.e. those who believed from among the people of the book are not like those among them who have not. (of the people of the scripture there is a staunch community) he says: there are among them a group of upright people who are guided by allah's divine oneness: 'abdullah ibn salam and his followers (who recite the revelations of allah) the qur'an (in the night season) in the hours of the night in their prayer, (falling prostrate (before him)) praying to allah.

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī

تفسير : yet they, the people of the scripture, are not all alike, equal; some of the people of the scripture are a community upright, with integrity, adhering to the truth, such as ‘abd allāh b. salām, may god be pleased with him and his companions, who recite god’s verses in the watches of the night, that is, during its hours, prostrating themselves, performing prayer (wa-hum yasjudūn, ‘prostrating themselves’, is a circumstantial qualifier).

Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi

تفسير : (they are not all alike…) [3:113]. ibn ‘abbas and muqatil said: “when ‘abd allah ibn salam, tha‘labah ibn sa‘yah, usayd ibn sa‘yah, asad ibn ‘ubayd and other jews embraced islam, the jewish rabbis said: ‘only the evil amongst us believed in muhammad, for had they been among our best they would not have abandoned the religion of their forefathers’. they also said to them: ‘you incurred a great loss when you have exchanged the religion of your forefathers with another religion’. allah then revealed this verse (they are not all alike)”. said ibn mas‘ud: “this was revealed regarding the nightfall prayer which is performed by the muslims but not by the people of the book”. abu sa‘id muhammad ibn ‘abd al-rahman al-ghazi informed us> abu ‘amr muhammad ibn ahmad al-hiri> ahmad ibn ‘ali ibn al-muthanna> abu khaythamah> hashim ibn al-qasim> shayban> ‘asim> zirri> ibn mas‘ud who said: “the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, delayed the time of the nightfall prayer. when he came out to lead the prayer, he found people waiting for the prayer. he said: ‘there is no one among the adherents of other religions who is remembering allah, exalted is he, at this hour except you’. and allah, exalted is he, revealed these verses (they are not all alike. of the people of the scripture there is a staunch community who recite the revelations of allah in the night season…) up to his saying (allah is aware of those who ward off (evil)) [3:115]”. sa‘id ibn muhammad ibn ahmad ibn nuh informed us> abu ‘ali ibn ahmad al-faqih> muhammad ibn al-musayyab> yunus ibn ‘abd al-a‘la> ‘abd allah ibn wahb> yahya ibn ayyub> ibn zahr> sulayman> zirr ibn hubaysh> ‘abd allah ibn mas‘ud who said: “one night, the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, did not come out. he was at one of his relatives or wives. he did not come to us to lead the night prayer until one third of the night had elapsed. when he came and found some of us lying down and some praying, he gave us the good news, saying: ‘none of the people of the book perform this prayer’. and the verse (they are not all alike. of the people of the scripture there is a staunch community who recite the revelations of allah in the night season, falling prostrate (before him)) was revealed”.